Police say 50-year-old /*George N. Devita*/ of /*Paterson*/ and 42-year-old /*Khalid J. Jafar*/ of /*Clifton*/ were arrested on multiple charges of burglary and theft.
The burglaries happened over the past three months.
The men would allegedly break into the stores during the early morning hours while the stores were closed.
Investigators say the suspects would gain entry into the establishments by manipulating the locks with specialized lock picking tools.
Once inside, they would steal, among other items, cash, cartons of cigarettes and lottery tickets.
Task force detectives were able to link Devita and Jafar to 19 commercial burglaries to area gas stations and liquor stores in /*Bergen*/ and /*Passaic*/ counties.
Detectives were also able to link Devita and Jafar to six burglary attempts in the /*Bergen County*/ area.
The burglaries were committed in /*North Arlington*/, /*Saddle Brook*/, /*Lodi*/, /*Garfield*/, /*Paramus*/, /*Rochelle Park*/, /*Wallington*/, /*Elmwood Park*/, /*Lyndhurst*/, /*Kinnelon*/, /*Totowa*/ and /*Belleville*/ and the burglary attempts were committed in /*Fair Lawn*/, /*Garfield*/ and /*Lodi*/.
---
Do you have something to add to this story? Click here to contact Eyewitness News.
